Door



June 21, 1938. G. M. cooPER 2,121,395

- DOOR Filed Nov. 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l gvwcmto c $.21. Cooper "1 June 21, 1938. G MMCIOOPER 2,121,395

noon

Filed Nov. 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i so Patented June 21 1938 UNITED STATES,

Mam? OFFICE 2,121,395- noon Gerald M. Cooper, Findlay, Ohio Application November 20, 1936,, Serial No. 111,948

2 Claims.

tion isto provide novel means for counter-poising. the door. i

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains- *Withthe' above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it

being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may

be made within the scope of what is claimed,

without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

, Fig. 1 shows in vertical longitudinal section, a portion of a building equipped with the device forming the subject matter of this application} Fig. 2 is a transverse section, looking forwardly against the rear surface of the door;

,Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing one of the tracks and adjacent parts;

Fig. 4 is an elevation showing one edge of the lower part of the door, together with a part of the track, the track being in section;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken through the track, the view showing the door raised.

Thenumeral 1 marks a building, such as a garage, having a fixed upper wall 2 at one end. Below the wall 2 there is a doorway 3. The vertical edges ofthe doorway 3 are defined by side pieces 4, constituting parts of the building I. Angle iron tracks 5are secured to the inner edges of the sidepieces 4. The tracks 5 have flanges that project toward the center of the doorway 3,

as Fig. 2 will show. The upper ends of the inwardly projecting flanges of the tracks '5 are extended outwardlyand rearwardly, as shown in Fig. 5, to form substantially horizontal, forwardly projecting stops 6.

The doorway 3 is closed by a door, comprising an upper member 1 and a lower member 8. Hinges 9 connect the upper edge of the upper member 1 of the door with the fixed upper wall 2 of the building I. Hinges Ill connect the upper edge of the lower part or member 8 of the door with the lower edge of the upper'part I of the door. At its lower corners, the lower member 8.

of the door carries rollers ll, journaled on its edges, and adaptedto move along the inwardly projecting flanges of the tracks 5.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the members 'l and 8 of; the door are so proportioned as to vertical height that when they are raised until the rollers ll engage the stops 6 at the upper ends of the tracks 5, the upper member I of the'door will be disposed in a downwardly and outwardly slanting position, thereby to shed rain and prevent rain from entering the doorway 3, the lower member 8 of the door being in a horizontal position, to serve as a prop for the upper member 1. Because the lower member 8 is in a horizontal position, it will have no component tending to cause it to slide downwardly on the tracks 5, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5, and upward movement of the part 8 of the door will be limited by engagement between the rollers II and the forwardly projecting stops 6 at the, upper ends of the tracks 5.

A mechanism is provided for counter-balancing the door as it is raised, the lower member 8 ofthe door being provided with a handle I2 whereby an operator may raise the door as aforesaid. -The counterpoising mechanism comprises a plate-like bracket l4, secured to one side wall of the building I. A lever 15 of the first order is fulcrumed at its rear end, at I6, on the bracket plate l4. A weight I! is slidably adjustable along 30 the lever l5, and is held in adjusted positions by a set screw H3, or equivalent device, threaded into the weight l1 and adapted to engage the lever 15. The upper end of a downwardly extend- .ed, rearwardly inclined pull spring I9 is connected to the lever l5, intermediate the ends of the lever, and the lever end of the spring [9 is con-. nected to the lower part of the bracket plate I 4, as shown in Fig. 1.

The lower ends of flexible elements 2|] are anchored at 2| on the lower member 8 of the door, near to the corners of the said lower member. The flexible elements 20 extend upwardly and laterally about direction-changing, idler pulleys 22 supported for rotation on the framework of the bui1din'g,behind the fixed upper wall 2. The upper ends of the flexible elements 20 are con.- nected to a single flexible element 23 extended downwardly over an idler 24 carried by the, framework of the building, the single flexible element 23 being connected to the forward end of the lever [5 by means of an opening 25, or otherwise. The single flexible element 23, and the upper horizontal portions of the flexible elements 20 run over guiding pulleys 26 mounted on the framework of the building, to the rear of the fixed upper wall 2.

In practical operation, the operator lays hold of the handle l2 and raises the door 1-8 to the position shown in Fig. 1, the rollers ll riding along the tracks 5 until they engage the stops 6.

Under such circumstances, the upper portion 1 of the door forms a downwardly discharging and slanting roof or canopy, protecting the doorway 3, and the lower portion 8 of the door forms a horizontal prop for the part I, the members I and 8 remaining fixedly in the outstanding position shown in Fig. 1. door, the members I and 8 of the door fold with respect to each other on the hinges I0, and the member 1 of the door swings upwardly and outwardly on the hinges 9.

As the door is raised, the spring l9 and the weight 11 tend to swing the lever l5 downwardly on its fulcrum l6, and the flexible elements 23 and 20 exert an upward pull on the lower part 8 of the door, which renders easy the upward and outward folding of the door into the position shown in dash line in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The device is simple in construction, but it affords a novel means whereby a canopy or protection for a doorway may be formed, the canopy or protection being fashioned out of the constituent parts of the door. The raising of the door to the position shown in dash line in Fig. l is rendered easy by the counterpoising mechanism including the flexible elements 20 and 23, the lever I 5, and associated parts.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, a build- During the raising of the ing having a doorway, vertical tracks on the building at opposite edges of the doorway, a door comprising upper and lower members, the upper member being hinged at its upper edge to the building, above the doorway, hinge means connecting the upper portion of the lower member with the lower portion of the upper member, and constraining the upper and lower members to fold outwardly when the lower member is raised. means on the lower member for engaging the tracks sliclably, the relative heights of said members being such that when the door is raised, the upper member will form an outwardly projecting and downwardly slanting canopy above the doorway and external to the building, the lower member then forming a horizontal prop, external to the building and holding the upper member in the position stated, a resiliently tensioned pivoted counterweight mechanism for holding said door in raised and lowered position, and a flexible connection between said door and counterweight mechanism. I

2. A device ofthe class described, constructed as set forth in claim 1, and further characterized by the fact that the counterweight mechanism comprises a lever fulcrumed at one end on the building, the flexible conection being joined to the opposite end of the lever, a weight shiftable along the lever, means for holding the weight in adjusted positions longitudinally of the lever,

and a downwardly extending pull spring, the upper end of the pull spring being connected to the intermediate portion of the lever, and the lower end of the pull spring being connected to the building.

GERALD M. COOPER. 

